Nursing education at UH Hilo using human patient simulation

HILO, Hawaiʻi - The nursing lab at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has recently become home to a Laerdal SimMan and SimBaby as a result of a generous donation.

"The use of high-fidelity human patient simulation is rapidly becoming an integral part of nursing education, as it allows students to acquire and develop critical thinking and decision-making skills without exposing patients to unnecessary risk," explained Dr. Kay Daub, associate professor and chair of the Nursing department.

"Graduating students are expected to function in increasingly more complex and sophisticated healthcare environments. Human patient simulation is a tool which is now integrated in Nursing curriculum at UH Hilo to enhance student learning, and simulations are structured specifically to a student‘s level of knowledge," she added. "In a beginning nursing fundamentals course, the simulation experiences cover basic skills and assessments and allow students to gain confidence in clinical situations. As students progress through the program, simulations become more complex to teach higher-level skills to students."

Faculty members are currently involved in developing and integrating simulation experiences throughout the program. In addition, research in areas such as clinical decision-making are being initiated in collaboration with Nursing faculty, Dean Randy Hirokawa, and other faculty members at UH Hilo.